centered science curriculum in their communities. The 1997 

 leadership institutes brought together 29 teams from school 

 systems in 15 states, Puerto Rico, and Sweden. The U.S. teams 

 represented 46 school districts that serve more than 800,000 

 K-8 students. Since 1989, 240 teams representing school dis- 

 tricts with more than 6 million K-8 schoolchildren have par- 

 ticipated in the leadership institutes. 



Science for All Children: A Guide to Improving Elementary 

 Science Education in Your School District was published in Jan- 

 uary' 1997. This book describes strategies for implementing an 

 inquiry-based science education program at the elementary 

 school level. It presents the five elements of the NSRC model 

 for systemic science education reform and profiles eight school 

 districts that have created successful elementary science 

 programs. The NSRC has received a grant from the Bayer 

 Foundation to produce a videotape to accompany this book. 



In 1997 the NSRC received a one-year planning grant from 

 the National Science Foundation to develop a strategy for 

 reforming K-8 science education through regional partner- 

 ships. The strategic plan developed by the NSRC will involve 

 numerous public and private institutions working in partner- 

 ship to reform science education in 300 school districts across 

 the nation. 



The NSRC also initiated the Science and Technology Con- 

 cepts for Middle Schools (STC/MS) project, a science curriculum 

 for students in grades 7 and 8. This project has received major 

 funding support from the National Science Foundation. Build- 

 ing on the success of the NSRC's Science and Technology for 

 Children (STC) program for grades 1 through 6, the STC/MS 

 program will develop eight instructional modules addressing 

 topics in the life, earth, and physical sciences and technology. 



During 1997 three sets of STC Discovery Deck science ac- 

 tivity cards — Electric Circuits. Microworlds. and Floating and 

 Sinking — were completed. These materials are being 

 developed to accompany the 12 Science and Technology for 

 Children units for grades 4 through 6. Each deck is designed 

 to reinforce the key science concepts in a unit and relate them 

 to children's lives. The cards also stimulate reading, writing, 

 and independent study. 



The NSRC completed the research and evaluation of cur- 

 riculum materials for inclusion in Resources for Teaching Middle 

 School Science, a companion volume to Resources for Teaching 

 Elementary School Science, which was published in 1996. The 

 new guide, scheduled to be published in early 1998, will pro- 

 vide educators with a wealth of information and expert 

 guidance for selecting resources to teach middle school science. 



In March NSRC Executive Director Douglas Lapp and 

 NSRC Deputy Director Sally Goetz Shuler participated in a 

 conference in Queretaro, Mexico, on elementary school science 

 education. The conference was attended by Mexican govern- 

 ment officials, university scientists, and teachers. Dr. Lapp 

 and Ms. Shuler shared the NSRC's vision for science education 

 reform and presented workshops demonstrating inquiry- 

 centered science teaching. The NSRC has also received fund- 

 ing support from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation to 



work in partnership with the Puerto Rico Public Schools and 

 the University of Puerto Rico to assist with the reform of local 

 K-6 science education. 



In late April NSRC Dr. Douglas Lapp and Ms. Shuler 

 visited Sweden at the invitation of the Royal Swedish 

 Academy of Sciences and the Royal Swedish Academy of 

 Engineering Sciences. In the city of Linkoping, Dr. Lapp and 

 Ms. Shuler met with 65 university scientists, school admin- 

 istrators, and teachers who are participating in a project to 

 adapt and translate the NSRC's Science and Technology for 

 Children elementary science units for use in Swedish schools. 

 Dr. Lapp and Ms. Shuler also made presentations at a sym- 

 posium at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences that was 

 attended by members of both royal academies, as well as by 

 corporate and government leaders. 



The NSRC, in partnership with the White House Office of 

 Science and Technology Policy and the National Science Foun- 

 dation, sponsored receptions for the Presidential Awards for 

 Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. These awards 

 are given annually to exemplary elementary and secondary 

 math and science teachers from across the nation. 



Office of Smithsonian Institution Archives 



Edie Hedlin, Director 



The Office of Smithsonian Institution Archives (OSIA) 

 focused on outreach during 1997, both in terms of holdings 

 and audience. At the same time the Office achieved signifi- 

 cant goals in traditional areas of archival and historical 

 activity, and in oversight of the National Collections. 



Of particular importance was the establishment of a con- 

 tract with National Underground Storage (NUS) for the crea- 

 tion of a purpose-built facility to hold records from a variety 

 of archives and special collections programs. OSIA took the 

 lead in defining requirements for the facility, working with 

 the Institution's contract management staff in negotiating an 

 agreement and developing procedures for the preparation and 

 transfer of records from multiple locations and programs. By 

 the end of Fiscal Year 1997, eight repositories sought inclusion 

 in OSIAs contract with NUS. Through this cooperative ap- 

 proach, the National Anthropological Archives, Air and Space 

 Archives, NMAH Archives Center, Archives of American Art, 

 Folklife Archives, Hirshhorn Library, and Freer-Sackler 

 Archives joined OSIA in acquiring enough quality space to 

 accommodate overflow while at the same time keeping costs 

 lower than any archives, acting independently, could have 

 achieved. 



Beyond the archival community, OSIA also engaged in a 

 number of outreach efforts associated with the 200th anniver- 

 sary of the birth of Joseph Henry, the first Secretary. Indeed, 

 the Joseph Henry Papers Project staff devoted a portion of 



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